50 years after the founding of the Organization of the African Unity, and the fervent calling for unity by founding members like Nkrumah, the salient question on African Unity remains.
More than an abstract formulation, in reality, where does African unity stand? Currently, how significant is Pan-Africanism as it was during the founding days? Where is the “Pan-Africanism that advocated for the commonness and unity of Africans and people of African descent? Where is the vision of the early pioneers who moved to reclaim the dignity of the African, instill pride in being African and forge an Africa identity from a shared culture”?
Exploring the existing continental situation vis-à-vis (dis)unity and the “reasons behind Africa’s disjointedness” at the local, regional and continental level, a photographic series titled Why Africans Are Not United produced by Nigerian film director, producer and photographer Taye Balogun and photographed by Kenyan photographer Mutua Matheka was launched by Silhouette Pictures, in 2014.
Using the power of visual representation, the series traces the vision of African Unity as expressed by the continent’s past leaders and AU founders –a united continent free of border restraints, free for its people to move around and trade with one another– against narratives of what ‘African Union’ is not in contemporary Africa. While the staged collection of images is deliberately provocative, the producers mention that it hopes to “raise questions rather than give answers to this relevant subject matter.” At the same time, it pushes borders and encourages its viewers to interrogate what the artists call their “conceptual photographic symbolic expression,” with the ultimate objective of inspiring the audience towards fostering unity, a pan-African spirit, and thus, “building a new continent”.
Provocatively, the work investigates some of the details that contribute to the condition(s) of (dis)unity and the people, which seem like the point of departure for the collection. In one of the featured photograph titled Education Is A ShowBiz, in a construction site, two women who are dressed in their graduation cap symbolizing their level of education are in the middle of a laborious job, digging for what appears like an imported instructor –an Asian man– standing behind them placing claim (ownership) on educational materials (resources); a kind of satirical composition carrying a profound message that alludes to reasons behind fracture and disunity.
When asked about the motivation behind the project: “After five decades of hobnobbing with the Westerns, it is time to re-visit the vision of our past leaders and channel our energy and resources into making this a workable reality,” said Taye Balogun.
During the launch of the exhibition, according to the artists, the overwhelming attendance and reception of the show led to heavy debates around the subject matter, sparking an “unending debate, and receiving some very personal questions from westerners in attendance.” It became a wider platform for a broad audience around a subject matter tackled infrequently, and if ever addressed, only by the few.
Pleased with the reception and platform it created for discourse, and due to the profound political and social narrative and relevancy behind each image, the artists perceive the significance of a Pan-African tour. “Since the work is a symbolic artistic expression of what the whole continent is currently facing: security, poverty, religion, and many other issues, it’s relevant and makes sense to tour the body of work,” explains Balogun.
This insightfully artistic work is the language and creative expression of both Balogun and Matheka’s. Find out when Why Africans Are Not United will be exhibiting in a city near you.